The Braves made history in 2021 on Nov. 2, winning the World Series with a 7-0 win over the Astros in Game 6.
Exactly a year later, Houston made its own history.
Cristian Javier and three Astros relievers combined on just the second no-hitter ever in World Series play Wednesday night, recording a 5-0 win over the Phillies in Game 4 in Philadelphia.
The win evened the series at two games each.
The only previous no-hitter in the World Series was a perfect game by Don Larsen of the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.
Ian Anderson of the Braves pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 on Oct. 29, 2021 in a 2-0 win but the Astros managed two hits after he left the game.
Javier and three relievers weren’t perfect this Nov. 2, but they were close. They’d done this before though: Javier, the starter in a combined no-hitter against the New York Yankees in June, was pulled with a no-hitter in progress after 97 pitches this time.
Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly each followed with a hitless inning.
Javier said his parents predicted Tuesday night he was going to throw a no-hitter.
“I just came out holding onto God, trying to be positive, trying to attack the strike zone," he said via translator. "Thanks to God I was able to accomplish that.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Game 5 is on Thursday night in Philly. Astros ace Justin Verlander will again chase that elusive first World Series win when he faces Noah Syndergaard.
First lady Jill Biden, a noted Phillies fan, was among those in the crowd of 45,693 who had little to shout about in Game 4.
Alex Bregman delivered the hit Houston desperately needed, a two-run double in a five-run fifth inning, and that was plenty for the Astros.
Completely in charge, Javier struck out nine, walked two and hardly allowed any loud contact. He tamed a club that had been 6-0 at home this postseason while hitting 17 home runs, including a Series record-tying five in a 7-0 romp in Game 3.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Very still on the mound, Javier carved his own quiet spot in the middle of the Phillies’ storm. Backing off onto the grass, straightening his hat, rubbing the ball, taking deep breaths, he proceeded at his own pace.
Next year, Javier won’t be able to work quite this way. Major League Baseball is instituting a pitch clock — 15 seconds to throw with the bases empty, 20 with someone on base — and Javier often surpassed those limits on this evening, drawing boos from a crowd eager for action.
When Javier held the Phillies scoreless through the first three innings, it was no small feat. No visiting pitcher had done that during the postseason in this ballpark.
In Javier’s last start, he shut out the Yankees on one hit in 5 1/3 innings in the Bronx during the AL Championship Series.
Maybe it was the team’s switch to orange tops, or the lucky lunch manager Dusty Baker had at a Philly hoagie spot, but the Astros sure looked different than the previous night, when they got shut out on a feeble five singles.
Blanked for 16 innings, Bregman and the Astros showed their postseason pedigree while breaking out against Aaron Nola in the fifth, putting on a hitting clinic by not trying to do too much at the plate.
Singles by Chas McCormick, Altuve and Jeremy Peña loaded the bases and finished Nola. Relief pitcher José Alvarado plunked Yordan Alvarez with his first pitch, forcing in a run, and then Bregman lined a 100-mph heater the other way for a two-run double.
Kyle Tucker followed with a sacrifice fly and Yuli Gurriel added an RBI single, and just like that, for the fourth game in a row, a team held a 5-0 lead.
